Committee of Concerned Scientists

An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

An independent non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

Jailed Uyghur Professor’s Family in Beijing Is Harassed by Police, Daughter Testifies

Ilham Tohti

Professor Ilham Tohti. Photo by Voice of America via Wikimedia Commons

The wife of Ilham Tohti, who was arrested and charged with separatism (see our letter), cannot access his bank account since his arrest, Tohti’s daughter told the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Tohti’s young children are traumatized by police harassment, she said, especially after witnessing mistreatment of her father.

CCS urges authorities to end to restrictions on Tohti’s family.

President Xi Jinping
The State Council General Office 2 ¬
Fuyoujie, Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100017
People’s Republic of China

April 9, 2014

Your Excellency:

We write now in concern for Professor Ilham Tohti’s family.

We wrote to you on January 27, 2014, (letter attached) concerning Dr. Tohti , a professor of economics at Central Minzu University and a peaceful advocate for the rights of the Chinese Uyghur Minority. Tohti was arrested on January 15, 2014, and charged on February 20 with “separatism.” We gather that Tohti is currently held in Urumqui Municipal Prison in Xinyian, Uyghur Autonomous Region, on charges of “separatism.” He has been specifically denied access to his lawyer, Li Fangping, on grounds of “state secrets” according to reports.

While we deplore Tohti’s treatment, as we explained in our previous letter, we are now particularly distressed about recent reports of state-sponsored mistreatment of his wife and children. According to testimony by Tohti’s daughter Jewher Ilham on April 8, 2014, before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Tohti’s wife Guzelnur cannot access his bank account. Her apartment is blocked by police and policemen follow her and her children when they leave. Her neighbors consequently shun her. This condition is particularly damaging to Tohti’s two young children. One of them has nightmares from having seen his father beaten. He shows the effects of trauma in his behavior and his schoolwork.

We therefore respectfully urge you to investigate the situation and to immediately lift all restrictions on Tohti’s family, including giving his wife access to his bank account and freedom from police presence for his whole family. We also reiterate our request to provide Tohti himself with treatment that is consistent with China’s obligations under international law, in particular internationally recognized standards of due process, fair trial, free expression and freedom of association. We also urge you, pending his release, to ensure Tohti’s well being in custody, including access to counsel and family.

Sincerely,

Joel L. Lebowitz
Paul H. Plotz
Walter Reich
Eugene M. Chudnovsky
Alexander Greer

Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

Copies to:

Congressional-Executive Commission on China

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Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

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Nancy Andrews, Duke University

Myles Axton, Chief Editor, Genetics and Genomics Next

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

David Gross, University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Giorgio Parisi, Roma I University La Sapienza

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, New England Biolabs*

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Former Honorary Board Members

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deseased) Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser (deceased), Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy (deceased), University of Pittsburgh

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

Louis Nirenberg (deceased), New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Myriam Sarachick (deceased), City College of New York

Harold Scheraga (deceased), Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Steven Weinberg (deceased), University of Texas, Austin*

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

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